Power-registering mechanism for fluid-motors.



No. 674,3". Patented May l4, mm.

n. w. EATON.

. POWER REGISTERING MECHANISM FOR FLUID MOTORS.

(Application filed Mar. 12, 1906') (No Model.)

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I Ewe-1%,; wen medbrp flM/w NITED STATES ATENT rmcn.

RUSSELL W. EATON, OF BRUNSWICK, MAINE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO M. U.ADAMS, OF WEST NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS. I

POWER-REGISTERING MECHANISM FOR FLUID-MOTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,311, dated May 14,1901; Application filed March 12, 1900. Serial No. 8,251. (No modeli) Toall whom it may concern: ratchet-wheel B, and a face-plate b at one Beit known that I, RUSSELL W. EATON, of end of said shaft, provided with awrist-pin Brunswick, county of Cumberland, State of I), connected, asherein shown, by a link b Maine, have invented an Improvement in withthe actuating-arm b of any suitable 5 Power-Registering Mechanism forFluid-Mocounting or registering device C, Fig. 1. The

tors, of which the following description, in hub D of a pawl-carrier(shown as a bellconnection with the accompanying drawings, crank lever dd) is mounted loosely on the is a specification, like characters on thedrawshaft B between the ratchet-wheel B and one ings representing likeparts. of the bearings A. On the other side of the To This invention hasfor its object the proratchet-wheel I have shown a gear e also ductionof simple and efiective means for loosely mounted on the shaft B betweenthe registering or recording the power generated other bearing Aand theratchet-wheel, said by the flow of fluids through motors, and it gearhaving secured to or forming a part is particularly adapted for use inlocations thereof a disk 6, provided along a portion of I5 Where thepower is constantly or very freits peripherywithasegmental flangeE,which quentlyvaryingas, forinstance, in supply-. projects over a portionof the toothed peing power for an electric road. It is well riphery ofthe ratchet-Wheel B and constiknown that in such instances the loadvaries tutes a shield to control the point at which a between widelimits, and hence the power repawl d on the pawl-carrier shall engagethe 2o quired is consequently changing, and it is ratchet-teeth. Aspring sis herein shown to necessary to ascertain the average powerfurmaintain the pawl in position to engage the nished in a given lengthof time to afford a ratchet-wheel whenever such engagement is basis forcompensation for power. In the permitted bythe shield, as will bedescribed. practical embodiment of my invention herein A11 upright frameA is provided with bear- 2 5 shown suitable registering mechanism forings A for a vertically-movable rack-bar E the power developed isoperated by a memas herein shown, the teeth of which are in her havingan intermittent and variable mesh with the gear e so that longitudinalmovement, the extent of such movement bemovement of the rack-bar willrotate thegear, ing governed by or through a cam, the operand therebymove the shield in one or the o ating-surface of which corresponds tothe other direction to uncover more or less of the power curve of themotor, the ordinates ratchet-wheel B to the action of the pawl (V, Y ofsuch curve representing to scale the reand the rack-bar is shown asweighted, as at sults of actual tests made upon the motor for E tonormally depress it. A roller or other power corresponding to certainquantities ofstud e -on the rack-bar projects therefrom to 8 5 dischargeof the actuating fluid, and the porest upon the operating-surface of acontrolsitionin'g of such controlling-cam is governed ling-cam F, to bedescribed, fast on a shaftf, according to the power developing in themounted in a bearing A on one of the standmotor. ards A, the said shafthaving secured to it a Figure l is a side elevation of a registeringgear f, in mesh with a pinion f ,the latter o 0 mechanism embodying oneform of my inbeing connected with the gate-shaft f of the vention, aportion of the said mechanism bemotor, (not shown,) a bearing-stand Abeing ing broken out to save space. Fig. 2 is a leftprovided for theshaft f adjacent the pinhand end elevation of the upper portion of ion fthe mechanism shown in Fig. 1. Fig. '3 is a Referring to Fig. 1, I haverepresented the 5 5 diagram showing the manner of laying off main shaftM of the water-wheel or motor as the curve by which the operativesurface of provided with a pulley m, which is connected thecontrolling-cam is generated, and Fig. 4 by a suitable belt m with asecond pulley m is a plan view of the controlling-cam detached. on acounter-shaft m said counter-shaft hav Referring to Figs; 1 and 2,suitable standing fast thereon a crank m connected by a 50 ards A areprovided with bearings A for a link m with the lever-arm d of thepawl-carrotatable shaft B, having fast thereupon a rier. Y

The cam F is geared to make substantially one revolution between theclosed and fully open positions of the gate controlling the passage offluid to the motor, the operating-s11 rface of the cam being so designedthat its radius at the point of engagement of the stud e of the rack-barshall at. all positions of the wheel-gate lie-proportional to the powergen erated by the wheel at such gate-opening, as ascertained by actualtests. Referring to Fig. 3, let the line CL CL represent the position ofthe gate from its closed to its fully-open position, said line being forconvenience divided into ten equal parts, and assume, for illustration,that the ordinates 1 '2 3, &c., repre sent to scale the power developedby the motor as ascertained by actual tests at successive tenths ofgate-opening,with a horse-power of five hundred when the gate is fullyopened. Then the curve 0 a will represent the operat ing-surface of thecam F, the radii thereof being proportional to the power developed atcorresponding gateopenings, the cam being constructed in accordance withthe curve 0 0. Assuming that in actual practice it has been foundunnecessary to consider the power developed until the gate has beenopened a considerable distance-mearly three-tenths, as herein shown--thesurface of the cam F may be made as a circular are from f to f Fig. 1,to represent such unconsidered power. The radius is gradually increasedfrom f to f so that when the gate is fully open the stud e 011 the rackIE will be at or adjacent such pointf of the cam. in Fig. l the cam isshown in the position assumed when the gate is shut. It the rack-bar Ebe raised for full gate-say five inches above its position for closedgate-with five hundred horse-power developed, and assuming that it hasbeen as certained that two hundred horse-power will be developed athalf-gate, the corresponding position of the cam F, owing to its design,will have raised the rack-bar two inches above closedgate position,expressed by the proportion 2:5::2OO H. P. 500 H. P.

it will be manifest that the cam can be so designed that the rack E willbe raised at any time above its lowest or closed-gate position a knowndistance proportional to the power developed by the motor atthe'corresponding gate-opening. The shield E through the gear e and itsengagement with the rack will also be angularly moved around the face ofthe ratchet-wheel B, and when the gate is closed the leading edge e ofthe shield will occupy the extreme position. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.)From this extreme position the leading edge of the shield will be movedin the direction of arrow 50, Fig. 1, through an arc determined by thelongitudinal movement of the rack E and consequently determined by theposition of the controlling-cam, and when the highest part of the latteris in engagement with the stud e", as it will be at full gate, theleading edge of the shield will be in its extreme position to the right,viewing Fig. 1. The pawl (V has a constant stroke; but the angle throughwhich the ratchetwvheel B is moved thereby will depend upon the positionof the shield. The greater the retractive movement of the latter in thedirection of the arrow 50 the sooner will the pawl in its forward strokeengage the ratchet teeth and the greater the angle through which theratchet will be moved. From the foregoing it will be manifest that theare on the ratchet-wheel B exposed by the shield to the action of thepawl will be proportional to the power of the motor developed at thattime in the same ratio that the maxi m u m exposed arc of theratchetwheel bears to the power of the wheel at full gate.

The mechanism for actuating the pawl-car rier is so adjusted that in itsforward movement the point or edge of the pawl d just reaches a pointadjacent the shield edge a when the shield is in the position shown inFig. l, and it will be obvious that the pawl will ride upon the shieldwithout codpe'rating with the ratchet-wheel B until the shield has beenretracted a distance dependent upon the gate'opening, as has beendescribed. Upon such retraction of the shield then the pawl will movethe ratchet-wheel forward an angular distance equal to the angularretraction of the shield, and from the foregoing it follows that thepawl will at any time advance the gear a distance which bears the samerelation to the maximum distance when the gate is wide open as the powerdeveloped at that time bears to power developed at full gate. Suchrotation of the ratchet-wheel B rotates the shaft B, and through wristpin b and link b the counter or register 0 is oper ated to record thenumber of revolutions of said shaft l3. Assuming now that the Wheelgateis wide open and that through suitable mechanism, as herein described,the shield has been retracted to expose the maximum arc of theratchet-wheel to the action of the pawl, let it be assumed that the gateremains wide open forone hour. Obviously at each stroke of the pawl (Zthe ratchet-wheel will be ad vanced its maximum distance, and when onerevolution has been completed the reading of the register or counter Gwill be increased by one. Assume now for illustration that the powerdeveloped at full gate is five hundred horse-power, and also assume thatthe speed of counter-shaftm has been made such that it will through theconnections described operate the pawl-carrier a sufficient number oftimes, so that during one hour, with the maximum arc of theratchet-wheel exposed, the shaft B will make five hundred completerevolutions, then the same will be recorded on the register or counterC. If it then be assumed that the gate is partly closed, so as todevelop, say, two hundred horse-power, then the rack E will operate tomove the shield E forward, so that its leading edge will be at about thepoint 60, Fig. 1, and the exposed arc of the ratchetwheel will be from60 to the extreme forward throw of the pawl, as '70; but we have theproportion as arc 60 to is to the maximum exposed are so is two hundredto five hundred, and the ratchet-wheel B and shaft B will make twohundred revolutions per hour, which will be recorded by the register orcounfor indicating two hundred horse-power.

It is evident that whatever power may be developing in the motor at themoment of the stroke of the pawl the ratchet-wheel, and therethrough thecounter or register, will be advanced such an amount that at the, end ofan hour the reading of the count-er will represent with great accuracythe average horsepower of the motor at the times during such hour thestrokes of the pawl were made.

In'practice the pawl is arranged to make a large number of strokes perhour, reducing the margin of error and increasing the practical accuracyof the mechanism. By taking the difference in the readings of thecounter or register during a period of, say, twentyfour hours anddividing by the number of hours run the average horse-power per hour isascertained.

As an instance of the operation of the apparatus a particular case willbe taken wherein power is furnished to an electric streetrailway, thewheel-gates being connected with suitable governors, the rapid andcontinual fluctuations of the load causing the governors to move thegates constantly, so that the power is continually varying. The problempresented was to determine from all of these innumerable changes thepower being used, in order that the proper charge could be madetherefor. It was found by actual experiment just how many strokes perhour of the pawl were necessary to advance the ratchet-wheel B, andthereby the counter C, to indicate in one hour the horse-power that themotor had by test been ascertained to develop at full gate, and in theparticular case referred to two thousand and thirty-two strokes werenecessarythat is, referring to the mechanism herein described, when theshield E is in position corresponding to full gate it permits the pawlcZ to move the ratchet-wheel B substantially one fourth of a revolution,and with the shield held in such position for one hour, the pawl makingtwo thousand and thirty-two strokes, the ratchet-wheel is advanced onefourth of two thousand and thirty-two, which equals five hundred andeight horse-power at full gate, as found by test. The counter-shaft m isthen arranged to give the pawl two thousand and thirty-two strokes perhour when the wheel or motor is revolving at normal speed.

It will be obvious that the mechanism herein described is applicable toany number of motors or wheels, the controlling-cam, however, beingconstructed in accordance with the power curve of its particular motor,as has been described.

As a check on the days work it is convenient in actual practice to havea counter suitably connected with the pawl-carrier to reg ister thestrokes thereof.

The particular construction of the counter or register is immaterial,and the particular mechanism herein shown for positioning the shield byor through the controlling-cam may be varied or modified withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention.

The weight E is used herein to insure the engagement of the stud c ofthe rack with the operative surface of the controlling-cam and tofacilitate the movement of the shield oppositely to the arrow 50.

The exposed arc of the ratchet-wheel indicates, for the purposes of thisapplication, the portion of its periphery exposed by the shield to theaction of the pawl, and by the term effective stroke of the pawl I meansuch a stroke as will advance the ratchetwheel a greater or lessdistance, according to the length of the exposed arc of the latter.

Having described my invention; what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In apparatus of the class described, a counter, actuating mechanismtherefor including a ratchet-wheel, a pawl to cooperate therewith,having a constant stroke, and a shield to determine the starting-pointon the ratchet-wheel of the effective stroke of the pawl, combined withmeans to govern the position of the shield, said means including a cammovable in accordance with the gateopening and having its operativesurface conforming to the power curve of the motor, detcrmined by testsor computation for power developed at different gate-openings.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a counter, actuating mechanismtherefor including a ratchet-wheel, a pawl to cooperate therewith,having a constant stroke, and a shield to determine the starting-pointon the ratchet-wheel of the effective stroke of the pawl, combined withmeans to govern the position of the shield, said means including a camhaving its operative surface conforming to the power curve of the wheel,determined by testsor computation for power developed by the motor atdifferent gate-openings.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a counter, actuating mechanismtherefor including a ratchet-wheel, a pawl to cooperate therewith,having a constant stroke, an angularly-movable shield extended over theperiphery of the ratchet-wheel, to determine the starting-point thereonof the effective stroke of the pawl, and a gear angularly movable withthe shield, combined with a rack in mesh with said gear and having aprojection or stud, a cam having its operative surface, in engagementwith said stud, conforming with the power curve of the motor, determinedby tests or computation, whereby the position of IIO.

the shield, controlled by the cam, will be such as to effect an angularmovement of the ratchet-wheel by the pawl proportional to the powerdeveloped by the motor at a gate-opening COII'GSPOlldillg to theposition of the cam, and means to position the cam in accordance withthe gate-opening.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

RUSSELL W. EATON. Witnesses:

D. D. GILMAN, PHILIP R001, J 1-.

